About the Collection

Every child has a hobby that exist of collecting things. This can either be toy cars, cartoons, shells or even rocky stones, just to name but a few. When William Sprokkereef finally had chosen a hobby, it became a bit more when the years went by. A whole lot more! William became interested in Salvation Army band memorabilia when in his late teens, and was able to build up already a considerable amount of interesting and diverse banding gear quite soon. When he started to involve several friends, and later on also the so called Salvation Army worldwide network, it became evident that this had become much more than just a hobby. A life taking journey!

Not long after the word 'museum' had been said, ever since this word is being used to describe the incredible collection he has collected from all parts of the Salvation Army world. Weather it is just a small pin from an unknown foreign band, or it is a festival tunic from the International Staff Band, it has William's utmost interest. His current collection has grown from that first small gain into a world reknowned gathering of uniforms, pins, stickers, mouthpieces, instruments, books, magazines, epaulettes, etcetera from as far as New Zealand to Canada, and Argentina to Finland and every imaginable country in between! His collecting mania however will never ends as he still is looking for many items to add. This is one such a hobby that never will see an end. So if you have a band feature at home of which you think that is has no value to anyone, you really should contact William and I bet he will be happy to discuss, deliberate and who knows, receive it for his impressive museum!

Steef Klepke
Vlaardingen, 2010